Shai Linne

Shai Linne
Shai Linne performing at The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina in August 2011
Shai Linne performing at The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina in August 2011
Background information
Born (1974-08-21) August 21, 1974 (age 50)
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
GenresChristian hip hop
Years active2002–present[1]
LabelsLamp Mode
Websitewww.lampmode.com/artists/shai-linne/

Shai Linne (born August 21, 1974)[2] is an American East Coast Christian rapper, author, and assistant pastor. Linne has been collaborating with other Christian rap artists and releasing studio albums since 2002. Linne has recorded studio albums under the Lamp Mode Records label.

Early life

Linne was an atheist for most of his childhood and dates his conversion to 1999.[3] Linne is Reformed in his soteriology (doctrine of salvation), and his 2008 album The Atonement included a song "Mission Accomplished", which defended limited atonement.[4]

Career

Linne has collaborated with Lecrae, Trip Lee, Timothy Brindle, Flame,[5] Hazakim, and numerous other Christian rappers. He appeared on the 116 Clique album 13 Letters. In 2011, Linne was featured on "The Lord is a Warrior", the tenth track from Matt Papa's This Changes Everything.[6]

In 2013, Linne released a single called "Fal$e Teacher$", in which he criticized prosperity theology, and named false teachers, including Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Paula White, and Joyce Meyer.[7][8]

In addition to being recognized as a pioneer in "lyrical theology", Linne has been touted for the complexity of his rhyme schemes when rapping.[citation needed] According to a study performed by a Finnish doctoral candidate, Eric Malmi, Linne placed as the fourth as measured by rhyme density. The study took the lyrics of 94 artists and plugged 10,082 songs into an algorithm that Malmi created to detect assonance rhymes. Linne was preceded in the rankings only by Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim and Redrama.[9][10][11]

Ministry

In 2016 Linne, along with Brian Davis, planted Risen Christ Fellowship in Philadelphia.[12] Linne served as an assistant pastor and elder at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia,[13][14] having previously been a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.,[15] and Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia.[3]

Following his two-year tenure at Del Ray Baptist Church, Shai Linne took a step back from touring full-time.[16][17][citation needed] In May of 2024, he launched a podcast with Lamp Mode, cohosted with The Ambassador and Ben Otero, called The Halftime Podcast. Later in the year he also served as a guest preacher and speaker at various conferences.[18][19][20]

Personal life

Linne is married to Blair Wingo, and together they have three children.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions[21]
US US
Chr 		US
Gos 		US
Ind 		US
Rap
The Solus Christus Project — — — — —
The Atonement — — — — —
Storiez — — 31[22] — —
The Attributes of God — 14[22] 5[22] 32[22] 15[22]
Lyrical Theology, Pt. 1: Theology 136[23] 7[23] 4[23] 26[23] 12[23]
Lyrical Theology, Pt. 2: Doxology – 13[23] 6[23] 37[23] 17[23]
Still Jesus
  • Released: July 21, 2017
  • Label: Lamp Mode
  • CD, digital download
 — 16[24] — 25[24] —
Jesus Kids
  • Released: September 21, 2018
  • Label: SDGFella Music
  • digital download
 — — — — —
Lyrical Theology, Pt. 3: Sociology
  • Release: TBA
  • Label: LampMode
  • Digital Download
 — — — — —

References

  1. ^ "Lamp Mode Recordings » shai linne". Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  2. ^ Family Search (2009). "U.S. Public Records Index". Family Search. 292181095. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Hansen, Collin (2008). Young, Restless, and Reformed: A Journalist's Journey With the New Calvinists. Crossway Books. pp. 117–118. ISBN 9781581349405.
  4. ^ Reformed Rap and Hip-Hop, Christianity Today.
  5. ^ Crawford, Terlenda (July 21, 2013). "To My Heart – Flame feat. Shai Linne". Jam the Hype. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Lord Is a Warrior (feat. Shai Linne) Song Lyrics | Matt Papa Lyrics | Christian Music Song Lyrics, Christian Music | NewReleaseToday". www.newreleasetoday.com. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Steffan, Melissa (April 11, 2013). "Reformed Rapper Calls Out 12 Popular Pastors as 'False Teachers'". Christianity Today. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  8. ^ Lu, Angela (April 9, 2013). "Rapper calls out Osteen, prosperity preachers". World. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  9. ^ "Shai Linne ranked 4th best rapper alive by rhyme algorithm". Rapzilla. February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Eric (February 13, 2015). "Algorithm That Counts Rap Rhymes and Scouts Mad Lines". Mining for Meaning. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Edwards, Phil (February 23, 2015). "The best rapper alive, as decided by computers". Vox. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "» Leadership". Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  13. ^ "Shepherds". Del Ray Baptist Church. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  14. ^ "Our Location". Del Ray Baptist Church. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  15. ^ "2013 National Conference". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  16. ^ "shai linne | Lyrical Theology". Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  17. ^ "Where To Find Me | shai linne". Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  18. ^ Harrison, Tami (September 30, 2024). "No Other Name Under Heaven". Faith Bible Church. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  19. ^ "Family Worship Conference with Shai and Blair Linne". Hinson Baptist Church. November 15, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  20. ^ "CROSS". www.crosscon.com. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  21. ^ "Shai Linne Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  22. ^ a b c d e Billboard Chart [dead link‍]
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i Billboard chart [dead link‍]
  24. ^ a b "Shai Linne - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2017.